Several hours earlier.
Wang Lingze tacitly allowed Bai Suche to take the position of leader of the Fengliu Dian.
She had brought three "Ghost Mudan" and one of her trusted female disciples, who were currently assisting Chai Xijin in battling the Central Plains Sword Association outside.
These people were all creations of her poison arts. Years ago, when the Great Crane Zen Master attacked the Wang family, she fled with the injured Wang Lingqiu, feigning death, and hid in the Shaolin Temple. The Great Crane never imagined that the remnants of the "Hu Deng Order" not only survived but were hiding right under his nose.
After the life-and-death struggle with the Great Crane, Wang Lingze lost all her martial arts skills, retaining only her poison techniques. As a woman, hiding in the Shaolin Temple was extremely inconvenient and fraught with danger. It was at this time that she encountered someone.
That person was Fang Hongtang, Chai Xijin's adoptive mother. With Fang Hongtang's help, Wang Lingze narrowly escaped death, allied with the Tianqing Temple, and began the so-called "Spirit Transfer" technique. But it wasn't the Tianqing Temple's Abbot Qinghui who saved her from peril, and no one understood better than her what those "Ghost Mudan" truly were—Abbot Qinghui might deceive himself, but she would never submit to her own creations. Yet if she could use this to secretly replace and cultivate her own forces, why not? Was it only Abbot Qinghui who could delude himself into becoming a demon and ruling the world? If he could, why couldn't she? Everyone claimed to be repaying kindness—what difference was there between high and low?
The bald donkey Great Crane died too early, missing the day of her rebellion. What a pity.
Seeing Bai Suche scheme to seize the position of leader of the Fengliu Dian and imprison Yu Konghou, Wang Lingze wasn’t angered but rather somewhat impressed.
This girl had the same spirit she once had.
The truth of the world isn’t that anything a "man" can do, a "woman" can also do.
Rather, anything someone can do, I can do—and what others cannot do, I can do as well.
Wang Lingze, her martial arts completely lost, pinched the barely alive Yu Konghou’s pulse point with one hand, leaned on a cane, and stood before Bai Suche. With a sinister tone, she said, "Girl, now that I’m here, and thousands of troops outside are about to trample this place, what are your plans?"
Bai Suche slowly walked up to Wang Lingze, showing no fear. "With the Wang family leader commanding a powerful army and possessing secret techniques, surely you can crush the remnants outside to dust and welcome back Lord Liu Yan?"
Wang Lingze paused slightly, releasing Yu Konghou’s pulse point. She let out a sharp laugh. "Do you truly have such deep affection for Liu Yan that your sole purpose is to save your beloved?"
"The Wang family leader commands a powerful army and has plotted for years. Your ambitions surely extend far beyond ruling the Martial Arts World..." Bai Suche spoke without hesitation. "If deep affection can persuade Lord Liu Yan to lend me his aid, then I can be deeply devoted—even madly in love." She knelt on one knee before Wang Lingze. "For women like us, the path to the heavens is fraught with difficulty. The Wang family leader holds the ultimate poison arts, and Lord Liu Yan possesses the antidote. If the two of you could cooperate... not only would the remnants outside crumble and beg for mercy in an instant, but your own ambitions would gain a threefold increase in success."
Wang Lingze placed her hand on Bai Suche’s head, sensing the restless movements of the Gu spiders within her, all under her control. She gave a chilling smile. "So obedient and clever. If I succeed, a hundred years from now, you may take my place."
Bai Suche smiled faintly. "Thank you, Wang family leader."The two exchanged a glance and smiled. As they spoke, rows of red-clad figures emerged slowly from the dark underground passage, standing silently behind Wang Lingze and Yu Konghou without uttering a word. These were Wang Lingze’s personal guards, all under the unique influence of the "Summoning Lantern Command," obeying only her orders. Behind these red-clad figures, the red-robed female attendants typically commanded by Bai Suche also stepped forward, lining up behind the guards.
Bai Suche lowered her head, avoiding their gaze, her expression unreadable.
Wang Lingze glanced at her, the sword scar on her face twitching slightly. "You needn’t be surprised. These people are under the influence of the 'Soul-Devouring Fragrance.' Besides obeying your 'Soul Devourer,' they also heed my 'Soul Reaper,'" she said slowly. "After all, it’s a secret technique passed down through my Wang family."
The reason Fengliudian could command so many young women and martial arts experts wasn’t just due to the Nine Hearts Pill—the "Soul-Devouring Fragrance" played a hidden role in clouding their minds. Bai Suche controlled the "Soul-Devouring Fragrance," which allowed her to command the red and white-robed attendants. But now that Wang Lingze had arrived, these people no longer obeyed her.
Bai Suche nodded. She didn’t ask about the white-robed attendants who still retained some semblance of their minds. Though less deeply poisoned than the red-robed ones, their absence now was hardly a good sign.
"I’ve heard that among Yu Konghou’s subordinates, there are several with formidable martial skills, having mastered some of the techniques from the 'Rebirth Score,'" Wang Lingze remarked. "Some women can wield the overwhelmingly fierce 'Rolling Snow,' while others have mastered the sinister and deadly 'Jade Bone.' Truly exceptional talents. I wonder which of them are present?"
Bai Suche pointed to a few among the red-robed attendants. "This is Lin Rusong, this is Shao Yuanbai, this is Sha Tangzhou… and…" she said calmly, "me."
Wang Lingze clicked her tongue in admiration. These girls were indeed martial prodigies. Yet, under the influence of the Nine Hearts Pill and the Soul-Devouring Fragrance, even their unparalleled talents served only to benefit others.
Those who recklessly practiced the "Rebirth Score" would be consumed by madness, killing and forgetting until they died in delirium.
Perhaps they would die even faster than those under her "Soul Reaper."
"Outside, the Central Plains Sword Assembly is locked in battle with Chai Xijin’s Sound Kill," Wang Lingze said darkly. "Take these girls and slip out through the secret passage. Kill Wan Yu Yuedan and Xiao Hong first." She turned away. "I’ll deal with Liu—"
A dull thud cut her off mid-sentence. A blade silently pierced her from behind. She felt a sudden warmth at her lower back, followed by searing pain as the blade twisted inside her flesh before flying back out, landing in Bai Suche’s hand.
"Moonlit Ferry."
Bai Suche gripped the bloodied, snow-white dagger, still kneeling on one knee, her face expressionless as she watched her.
Wang Lingze clutched the wound on her back, her face cycling through disbelief, shock, suspicion, fury, and even absurd amusement in an instant. She staggered back a step as Bai Suche slowly rose to her feet.
The masked red-clad guards and attendants around them shifted, their formation tightening to encircle the two. Bai Suche could hear the change in their breathing—once nearly imperceptible, now the excited panting of beasts before a fight.
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